Olympics Set the Stage for Emerging Web Tech Fight - Adobe Vs. Microsoft
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ADOBE VS. MICROSOFT
Gartner analyst Ray Valdes said 90 percent of the top global 1,000
companies have yet to deploy any sort of RIA, while 90 percent of the
top 100 consumer Web sites have already done so using the
nonproprietary and more simple AJAX format.
That opportunity has Microsoft eyeing current leader Adobe for
business that extends beyond Silverlight and into the sale of design
tools along with server and database software to enable these new
applications.
"We have a large and established customer base. There is no doubt in
our minds that Microsoft is going after this space very aggressively,
but we feel very strong and confident," said Jennifer Taylor, director
of Flash product development.
Historically, Adobe's developer tools have focused mainly on design
and creating for the Web. Now, it plans to extend that to more
traditional software development with Flex, a system to help developers
create and deploy applications.
Adobe plans to take the next step with tools called Adobe Integrated
Runtime (AIR), which allow programs to run on the Web or offline on a
computer's desktop.
On the other hand, Microsoft is approaching Silverlight from the
opposite direction. It plans to take advantage of its legions of
outside developers experienced in writing for its ubiquitous Windows
operating system.
The next version of Silverlight, being tested now and due later this
year, will support Microsoft's .NET framework -- tools used by
developers to create desktop applications that work on Windows.
"This is a logical extension of the investment that we've had in the
development space for decades," said Brian Goldfarb, group product
manager for Microsoft's developer division.
Microsoft introduced its first version of Silverlight a year ago,
but Gartner's Valdes said the second version is the first real form of
Silverlight since the inclusion of .NET support turns the technology
into "very different animal."
(Editing by Andre Grenon)
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